CHICAGO -- The scene in the Detroit Pistons' locker room looked so familiar. Faces buried in cell phones, conversations muffled. A mechanical problem with the team plane kept the team in Chicago overnight and that 11th-hour news buzzed the room through necessity.

Most of all, reflection on another big lead blown, another fourth quarter soured.

The Pistons launched the second half of the season wondering whether Joakim Noah was out of bounds on the game-winning play, a saved ball which landed fortuitously for Chicago in Marco Belinelli's hands for a three-point play with 7.5 seconds left and an 85-82 Bulls win.

But that's what happens when you're a 16-26 team that, for the 11th time this season, blew a double-digit lead -- 17 points this time -- in defeat.

"I told these guys before the game, if you want to win today, you have to match their energy the whole game, not just match it for 3 1/2 quarters," Tayshaun Prince said. "Look what happened."

What happened was Nate Robinson going berserk in the fourth quarter, driving a 22-5 Bulls flurry to open that period.

The Pistons led 68-57 through three quarters. With 4:22 remaining, they trailed 79-73, with the Bulls shooting 8 of 11 from the floor and 6 of 6 from the line for the quarter.

"We had the lead," Greg Monroe said. "We had control of the game. It was another one of those games that we lost control in the fourth quarter."

The Pistons rallied back into the game and briefly led, and were tied 82-82 after a Jason Maxiell layup with 29.4 seconds left.

Belinelli missed a baseline 3-pointer short, barely grazing the rim, and the rebound was sailing out of bounds when Noah, through sheer grit and will, whipped it back to him while falling into the Incredibulls dance team.

Belinelli's follow-up floater fell through cleanly as Rodney Stuckey fouled him. The Pistons had two chances to tie but Tayshaun Prince and Stuckey missed 3-pointers before the final horn.

"The last shot, I'm not even sure who shot the ball but it came up short," Noah said. "I was going out of bounds. I'm not sure it was the right thing to do. I wasn't hitting it to anyone, just trying to keep it in play. If they get it, it may have been a transition basket. The basketball gods were with us."

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau called Noah's effort, as Brandon Knight tried to shield him off the ball without fouling or having it bounced off his own body, "incredible."

"It is big-time stuff," Thibodeau said. "Joakim was something. He had 18 rebounds and didn't come out in the second half. He made great hustle plays."

Monroe and the rest of the Pistons thought it was debatable whether Noah had touched out of bounds before saving the ball.

"It looked close, obviously," he said. "I mean, I'd like to see the replay. That's basically it. They were pretty sure that he wasn't out of bounds. It was close but, like I said, that play wasn't the play that lost the game for us."

But the bigger problem after one game of a three-game road trip, with the world champion Miami Heat up next on Friday, was the defensive collapse for the first 7 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter.

"You've got to be able to get stops," Frank said. "That's got to be your calling card.

"We had some decision-making errors out there. We were passing up open shots and allowed mistakes to let them back in the game. We allowed our poor offense to affect our defense. It is very disappointing. When you're not scoring, you have to be discliplined on defense and get stops."